Product Description

Here is what Black Diamond has to say:

For rapid response and fast digging in emergency situations, the Deploy shovels are built for mountain professionals and serious backcountry skiers. Utilizing our trapezoidal, curved shaft design, they provide rotation-free, fast activation with the squeeze of a spring pin. The shaft slides into the metal blade for integrated storage. The exceptionally strong aluminum blade is made to move large quantities of snow quickly and create smooth pit walls. The ergonomic handle feels like a D-grip but packs like a T-grip. The Deploy 3 offers all the features of the Deploy 7 but with a smaller volume blade.

Features

Features:

The 6000 series aluminum blade is ultra-strong and sized efficiently for maximum snow removal
The unique trapezoidal bent shaft will not rotate and collapses easily into the blade's pocket
Small, glove-friendly handle feels like a D-grip when handling, yet packs like a compact T-grip
Smooth, flat blade makes for easy pit analysis

Specifications:

Weight: 1 lb. 4 oz. (3), 1 lb. 9 oz. (7)
Blade volume: .3 gallons (3), .7 gallons (7)
Length (extended): 63 cm (3), 68 cm (7)
Length (collapsed): 44 cm (3), 46 cm (7)

My Thoughts

This is not very different from most aluminum shovels out there, where it excels is its space saving design. This is a great shovel for smaller packs and makes it easy to take along in almost any backcounrty winter adventure. If you are willing to spend a little extra ca$h, you won't be disappointed with this shovel.

Images

Reviews

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Alpinist

Good shovel

Voted 5/5

I used this shovel for the first time on Mt Shasta recently and have no major complaints with it. It appears to be made solidly. It is ergonomically comfortable to use and moves snow just fine. The best feature is the ability to collapse the handle for easier packing.

It's a little difficult to depress the 2 ball bearing style buttons that lock the handle in place while wearing gloves, but fortunately you only have to do that once when you unpack it.

I plan to use this shovel on Denali in May and will update this review then.

Posted Mar 21, 2008 11:22 am

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